Big sigh of relief. I’m nearly four years in to being self-employed, but at the end of every year, I’m amazed I’ve managed to be successful, take a big breath, and congratulate myself for living to fight another day. I doubt I’ll ever be fully convinced that my business will continue to be a success,…
Recently, I’ve been seeing versions of the ten-year challenge floating around again. We are coming to the end of a decade, after all, and it’s normal to want to look back over the past ten years at how your life has changed, and hopefully improved. Certainly, a lot has changed in my life: I moved…
Cash flow, that is. My number one recommendation for anyone considering self-employment is to save a significant amount of money before you take the leap. Back up: It’s actually my number one life recommendation, regardless of employment status. You never know when you may need the flexibility to leave a job, living situation, relationship, etc.…
Communication is not a “set it and forget it” function. Nor should it grow completely organically, without structure or consistency. Your organization’s communication materials (whichever format they may take) are your public face and should reflect the organization’s goals, values, and quality of work. While it may be tempting and less labor-intensive to use the…
After hearing that I’m self-employed, multiple people recommended to me that I read the book, “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss. Enough of them did so that I decided to bump it to the top of my reading list (by which I mean, I put a hold on the e-book at my local library). Nearly…
Six months ago, I relocated from the suburbs of Washington, DC (the Fairfax County section of Alexandria, for those of you familiar with the area) to Lynchburg, Virginia. Lynchburg is a substantially smaller metro area where I did not have pre-existing work or client connections, so I knew that this likely meant a move to…
A few weeks ago, I participated in a webinar hosted by the International Association of Business Communicators on “how to write emails your employees will actually read.” Now, Sarah Wood Communication, LLC is a one-person shop, so I don’t personally need to worry about this topic. But my clients do – it’s vital for organizations…
As a self-employed professional who works from home, I get versions of this question all the time. No, I did not win the lottery or otherwise become independently wealthy, as I strongly suspect my grandmother – who does not seem to grasp the concept of working from home and definitely doesn’t understand what I mean…
Spoiler alert: I don’t have a definitive answer. This is the what comes first – the chicken or the egg – question for the communication industry. Communication channel is more important Advocates for this position argue that it doesn’t matter how stellar the messaging, how personalized or action-oriented, if the intended recipient doesn’t receive or…
Last January, I set my goals for the year as bringing in at least two new clients and increasing billing by 20%. I thought this was a realistic goal that would encourage me to continue growing my business, but I was also worried. While I hadn’t announced it at the time, I knew I was…
